Category Archives: Coronado

If you are ever in San Diego, just a few minutes away is Coronado. Here you can find the amazing Hotel Del! We stopped by for dinner outside on the patio the nite before. I had never been, so I scoped out the place for shots. I woke up early…around 5 AM this day and drove over for a photo run! It was very quiet and this fantastic room was open for me to HDR! It is called the Crown Room (see the lights above…crown shaped). This would be a great spot for a wedding reception! I can imagine its booked often and always filled. I was lucky after I did a few shots I went elsewhere in the hotel, came back to this room and it was locked for an upcoming preparation.

When you walk into a place like this all you can think about is the history! Here is some info from the web: The Del’s visionary founders – Elisha Babcock and H.L. Story – dreamed of building a seaside resort that would be “the talk of the Western world.” Since then, the resort has become a living legend, visited by celebrities, dignitaries and U.S. presidents. In fact, publisher Rand McNally recognized the Hotel del Coronado for enjoying “more fame and historical significance than perhaps any hotel in North America.”

Eleven U.S. Presidents have visited The Del, starting with Benjamin Harrison in 1891. One of the resort’s most famous visitors was England’s Prince of Wales in 1920. He would later become King Edward VIII, only to give up his throne in 1936 to marry Coronado divorcee Wallis Spencer Simpson. Many have speculated that they may have first met at The Del. Hollywood has been making movies at The Del since 1901. In 1958, The Del was the backdrop for the comedy classic “Some Like It Hot,” starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. The resort has also seen a steady stream of celebrity visitors – from Charlie Chaplin and Humphrey Bogart to Brad Pitt and Madonna.

One evening in Coronado we were heading out for dinner along the bay and I brought my camera hoping for a nice sunset. If you know Coronado, a big percentage of it is a military base. It is called the Naval Amphibious Base. In the distance you can see an aircraft carrier parked along the pier. Coronado is a wonderful location. If you stay along th ebay you can watch all the boat traffic cruise by. One day we saw a Destroyer heading out for the day. Helicopters fly over for sorties often. Big ships entering the port. Just lots of action.

If I can recall the Officer’s Club where Tom Cruise sings to Kelyl McGillis “You Lost That Loving Felling” was filmed at the Naval Base in Coronado. I looked it up on the net…not sure if it is still there: (from July 2008) Heading down south a bit, Kansas City Barbeque, the San Diego restaurant where Goose belts out “Great Balls of Fire” at the piano in Top Gun, burned to the ground yesterday afternoon. A cook told firefighters the blaze flared up from inside the cooking pit and spread quickly through the interior, melting all the years of memorabilia along the way, including the jukebox that played “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin” in the final scene of the movie, the piano and other props. The restaurant totally capitalized on its fame, proudly called itself the “Top Gun Bar,” and in its 24 years has been a big Navy hangout. It’s “shrine” full of Navy baseball hats, signed bras, life preservers, license plates and other randomness is gone. Where’s Maverick when you need him, huh?

While in Southern California we decided to stay a few nights in lovely Coronado, CA. Just minutes away from San Diego across the bay. It is a beautiful little island with great restaurants and just a few hotels. The most famous is Hotel Del Coronado. Amazing, but in the sumer a bit expensive! In the distance of this shot is downtown San Diego. Some amazing views of the city can be located here.

Info from the web: Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive places to reside in the United States. Coronado lies on a peninsula connected to the mainland by a 10-mile isthmus called the Silver Strand (locally, The Strand.) Locals sometimes call Coronado The Island or Coronado Island, and they denote the core living and business area as The Village. Coronado is Spanish for “the crowned one,” and thus it is nicknamed The Crown City. The city became a major resort destination in 1888 with the opening of the Hotel del Coronado. In 1900 a tourist/vacation area just south of the Hotel del Coronado was established by John D. Spreckels and named Tent City. Over the years the tents gave way to cottages, the last of which was torn down in late 1940 or early 1941.